Rome, 25 June (LaPresse) – “The NATO Secretary-General’s ‘off-the-cuff’ remarks – which are inappropriate and unnecessary – amplified by a domestic political approach that is always ready to harm Italy simply to undermine the current government, are creating a storm in a teacup on the domestic front, but risk having far more serious consequences on the international stage. I reiterate this clearly, simply and unequivocally. Italian defence personnel, who on a daily basis have managed technical relations with the United States regarding the use of bases, have always operated in full and strict compliance with the treaties in force and the regulations governing such activities. Whenever requests went beyond the scope permitted by the treaties, authorisation was refused. This has already happened and everyone remembers it.” This was stated in a note by the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto. “As I said yesterday,” Crosetto added, “the General Staff has no difficulty whatsoever in reporting, flight by flight and day by day, to the relevant institutional bodies, every single authorised movement. In a normal country, this would be enough to put an end to the controversy and, if anything, to question the superficiality with which certain statements were made. Instead, in Italy, not even the clarification issued yesterday by NATO itself is enough – a clarification which confirmed what the Ministry of Defence had maintained from the outset: Italy has authorised exclusively technical and non-kinetic activities, in full compliance with what was communicated to Parliament.”
Crosetto: ‘Rutte’s off-the-cuff remarks risk having serious consequences’
Rome, 25 June (LaPresse) – “The NATO Secretary-General’s ‘off-the-cuff’ remarks – which are inappropriate and unnecessary – amplified by a domestic political approach that is always ready to harm Italy simply to undermine the current government, are creating a storm in a teacup on the domestic front, but risk having far more serious consequences on the international stage. I reiterate this clearly, simply and unequivocally. Italian defence personnel, who on a daily basis have managed technical relations with the United States regarding the use of bases, have always operated in full and strict compliance with the treaties in force and the regulations governing such activities. Whenever requests went beyond the scope permitted by the treaties, authorisation was refused. This has already happened and everyone remembers it.” This was stated in a note by the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto. “As I said yesterday,” Crosetto added, “the General Staff has no difficulty whatsoever in reporting, flight by flight and day by day, to the relevant institutional bodies, every single authorised movement. In a normal country, this would be enough to put an end to the controversy and, if anything, to question the superficiality with which certain statements were made. Instead, in Italy, not even the clarification issued yesterday by NATO itself is enough – a clarification which confirmed what the Ministry of Defence had maintained from the outset: Italy has authorised exclusively technical and non-kinetic activities, in full compliance with what was communicated to Parliament.”
